Northern Illinois has quickly emerged as this year’s punching bag for those who despise the BCS system. The 2012-2013 bowl schedule was released over the weekend, and the 12-1 Huskies — who capped off the season with a 12-game winning streak — earned themselves a spot in the Orange Bowl against Florida State. Like many others, Kirk Herbstreit was in awe of the selection.
Herbstreit appeared on ESPN on Sunday evening to discuss the BCS selections, and he pulled no punches when talking about Northern Illinois. His rant starts at about the 3:00-mark of the video above.
“The fact that Northern Illinois is in the BCS in 2012 is really a sad state for college football and where we are with the current system,” Herbstreit said. “Thank goodness we’re moving toward a new system in 2014. They don’t deserve to be in the BCS this year. Are you kidding me with Northern Illinois playing in the BCS?
“You’re gonna leave Oklahoma out to put Northern Illinois in? To a BCS bowl game? Are you kidding me? Of all the years we’ve had these BCS discussions, putting a Northern Illinois or a Kent State in the BCS this year would really be an injustice to some of these teams.”
It’s hard to disagree with Herbie. Northern Illinois had a tremendous season, but they beat one ranked team — No. 17 Kent State in the last week of the season. You look at teams like Georgia, which came a few yards away from beating a team that is playing for the national championship, or Texas A&M, which beat a team that is playing for the title, and it shows you that the system is broken. Northern Illinois doesn’t have the strength of schedule to be making an appearance in a BCS game regardless of their record. The playoff system can’t come soon enough.
